I was taking care of my neighbor’s dogs for a couple of days. Today was our first cold and snowy day in Chicago (OK just flurries), but the heat was on in the house.
Anyway both the doggies were giving me shocks when I petted them. I guess they old fur is building up static electricity. Time for my neighbors to get a humidifier I guess
I think it’s the other way around - I’ve been shocking myself in my car and at work too, so I can hardly blame the cats when we get shocked when I pet them. I’ve always felt bad about shocking them (or vise versa) because you can’t sit them down and explain why you both got zapped when you pet them, or even that you got zapped too. They always look so upset!
Yes, we strike sparks with all the pets in winter. The worst ever was probably when I zapped our bird Cosmo with a few kilovolts right as I was getting him to step up. He shrieked and flew off and it took him a while to trust me again. It was bad enough that my finger tingled for a while.
My dog doesn’t get staticky. Not sure if it’s because I have a whole-house humidifier here and at my parents there’s a very humid gas fireplace, or if it’s because I keep her fur kind of silky with Skin So Soft and other junk (she’s got dry skin), or golden retrievers don’t get staticky.
My dog can be pretty skittish so it’s best for both of us that we live a fairly static-free life.
My favourites are the sparks under the covers as my cat moves around under there. It’s great because it’s dark. It’s like my own personal fireworks show (she doesn’t seem as impressed, though).